(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Caribbean Community (CARICOM) statisticians are in Belize City, Belize, for a three-day meeting that will continue efforts to harmonise statistical systems in the Region.

The statisticians, in Belize for the Thirty-Sixth Meeting of the Standing Committee of Caribbean Statisticians (SCCS), 24-26 October, will examine a packed agenda which prioritises matters related to economic, financial, and investment statistics. In this context, the Committee has tabled the review of a Status Report based on data submitted by the CARICOM Secretariat on National Accounts. Within this discussion, there will be a review of progress reports by countries on the Compilation of National Accounts as well a review of the progress in the compilation of Merchandise Trade Statistics and a Programme of work in this area for 2012 - 2013.

Pertinent to the discussions in this priority area is a report on the progress of statistics on International Trade in Services, including a work programme for the next two years. The meeting will also include an examination of statistics on demographics, and social and living conditions in the Region, with focus on action taken at the regional and national levels.

As CARICOM pursues a common approach to gathering statistics for ease in comparability of data across Member States, discussions in Belize will focus on the development of Statistics Legislation, particularly the core principles attached to a Draft Model Statistical Bill.

The need for Statistical Legislation within the Community has become urgent in the face of difficulties encountered in gathering critical data for decision-making. A Diagnostic Assessment has been completed and the Standing Committee of Caribbean Statisticians will benefit from a report on the findings at its meeting in Belize.

The Meeting will examine other issues on the regional statistics agenda including a Common Framework for a Literacy Survey in CARICOM; the formation of a Professional Association of Statisticians; and the formation of a database of Experts in Statistics in CARICOM.

The meeting is expected to benefit from a presentation by the CARICOM Development Fund (CDF) on measuring the success of the CARICOM Single Market (CSM) and on building cohesion indicators.

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